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"Don't carry any sandpaper, guys," was the generous advice of one of the ground staff at the Edgbaston Cricket Ground. England might take special delight from Australia's spiralling misery, but there is still a lingering doubt how this England side might fare against the current world toppers - India.

"You think India will win? It's going to be a tough series," he added. And it might well be, looking at both sides, at least on paper.

But such promises for exhilarating cricket between these two sides have fallen on deaf ears. In the last two series the two teams played against each other, the results were 3-1 and 4-0 in favour of the hosts.

That might just be the difference between the two sides - the conditions. But here's the twist. England is in the middle of a heatwave, something that was summed up by Ajinkya Rahane, who said their practice game at Chelmsford was almost like playing in Mumbai or Chennai. That would mean conditions in England could be somewhat similar to what you'd get in India.

In Birmingham though, there was a brief spell of rain a couple of days before the Test, a welcome break from the heatwave that coincides with the duration of this match. England will hope conditions return to normalcy but if it doesn't though, India could well pull out the mattresses and come out to sleep on these tracks.

That the series will not be a walkover has already been underlined by England. Alastair Cook talked up India's pace bowlers, and England, perhaps swayed by Rashid knocking over Kohli's stumps in the limited-overs leg, brought him into Tests despite him not having a red-ball contract. Not long after, they announced Jos Buttler, two Tests since his own return to the Test squad despite not having a red-ball contract, as their vice-captain for the series, with a view on long term benefits.

India, of course, have their own worries. Shikhar Dhawan's practice match lasted all of 4 balls, while Pujara, despite his County stint, struggled in the nets. They have lost their best bowler in these conditions, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, and another strong backup in Jasprit Bumrah. The pitch wears a slightly dry look, but England's decision to pick Sam Curran over Jamie Porter perhaps indicates that swing bowlers will be key.

Key also will be how India's batsmen have adapted to English conditions. Pujara and Ishant had already travelled to England to play County cricket, and four from the current Test squad played the India A game as well, before the practice match against Essex. But the England squad offers challenges at a whole new level.

Alastair Cook already served up a notice with a 180 against India A, as did Dawid Malan and Sam Curran. India must make sure that they start well, and then keep it going from there. They would have learnt from the last time they toured here that just a good start will mean next to nothing if they fail to keep the momentum going. They will also know that England have had a far from impressive year in Tests, just managing to shrug off a eight-Test winless streak, and some solid performances could land them serious pressure again.

England, on the other hand, will lean back on how reliable they are at home. The last time they lost a series at home was back in 2014 to Sri Lanka. They will also know that India have only one draw and one win in 10 games in England. It would probably only take one big Test to make India relive those nightmares again.

Who's your money on?

When: England vs India, 1st Test, 11 AM Local time, 3:30 PM IST.

Where: Edgbaston, Birmingham

What to expect: The pitch has a brown, hard look to it and if the sun beats down, it should be good for batting. Weather forecasts, however, point at more cloud cover, which could just prompt the teams into playing a lone spinner.

Team News

England: England announced their starting XI a day before the Test, giving Sam Curran a cap ahead of Jamie Porter. Moeen Ali, too, doesn't find a slot, with the selectors going for Rashid.

India: A few questions linger over India's team selection. Dhawan, Pujara and Rahul all batted in the nets, but it looks as if Rahul would get the nod ahead of the left-hander to open alongside Murali Vijay. Shami should be up alongside Ishant Sharma and Umesh Yadav, with Ashwin as the lone spinner.

- At no other venue have Asian teams played more Tests without registering a single win than the 16 they have played in Edgabston. India have lost five of the six matches they have played at this venue.

- Adil Rashid will be playing his first Test in England. All his first ten Tests were played in the sub-continent - three in the UAE, two in Bangladesh and five in India. Rashid picked a four-wicket haul in four of the five Tests he played in India in 2016.

- Joe Root has scored a fifty in each of the 11 Tests he has played against India. No other player has hit fifty-plus scores in more consecutive Tests against a single opponent than Root's 11 against India.

What they said

"Back in the day when I did not know better, these things used to bother me because I used to read a lot. But honestly - and I'm not saying this because I'm sitting here in front of all of you - I genuinely don't read anything. I have no idea what's going on. After the first two Tests in South Africa, I had no idea what was going on. My only focus was on my preparation and where the team has to head. If I waste my energy on all these things, I'm compromising on my mindset." --Virat Kohlikeeps his focus despite growing pressure on him to deliver in England

"I've known Adil from being a really young lad at Yorkshire. He's been around the first team since I joined the academy. He's very talented; he always has been. I think over the last couple of years, with experience, he has grown as a player massively. He's developed his game in a way that he has a better understanding of what he's trying to do and how he's trying to work batters out. He's got high skill levels which I think are very transferable into Test cricket." --Joe Rootbacks his spinner after his contentious selection

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I would like to have a green pitch, cloud cover and Anderson at least 50% of his best. And we still win then we are obviously deserving no 1 test team. I suspect none of our batsman are even half good against movement. Dhawan is lolworthy. Vijay is overrated. Pujara is weak when ball moves. Kohli, interesting watch, let's see where it goes. Rahane good.DK would be a walking wicket. Trust me.

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I would like to have a green pitch, cloud cover and Anderson at least 50% of his best. And we still win then we are obviously deserving no 1 test team. I suspect none of our batsman are even half good against movement. Dhawan is lolworthy. Vijay is overrated. Pujara is weak when ball moves. Kohli, interesting watch, let's see where it goes. Rahane good.DK would be a walking wicket. Trust me.

Irony is England Batsman are worse Than Us Against Moving Ball Considering It's their Forte.

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I believe that is what England will do bat first if they win the toss.

batting day 3-4 will be easier in this wicket..what ever batting edge they might have will be negated if they bat first. Besides you never know with Kohli and KLR and Rahane/DK..one of them might kickon and score

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Arrived here in Birmingham. Really looking forward to tomorrow. No predictions, I always get them wrong!

Actually I made some predictions on here on a predictions thread a while back. 2-1 India in the T20s 2-1 England in the ODIs. 2-2 in the Tests. Not sure where the draw will come from with no rain around though. Possibly some in September?

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Arrived here in Birmingham. Really looking forward to tomorrow. No predictions, I always get them wrong!

Actually I made some predictions on here on a predictions thread a while back. 2-1 India in the T20s 2-1 England in the ODIs. 2-2 in the Tests. Not sure where the draw will come from with no rain around though. Possibly some in September?

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Arrived here in Birmingham. Really looking forward to tomorrow. No predictions, I always get them wrong!

Actually I made some predictions on here on a predictions thread a while back. 2-1 India in the T20s 2-1 England in the ODIs. 2-2 in the Tests. Not sure where the draw will come from with no rain around though. Possibly some in September?

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We should bat second as we don't do well on wickets with little assistance to bowlers. This series is entirely depends on the bowlers and how they make use of the pitch. We always say bowling is our weak spot but it is turning out to be the other way round from the past couple of years.

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Dumb captain and his chumcha coach will drop Rahul and Kuldeep from the 11. Win the toss and bat first when wicket has all the juice and fresh. We will be 70 for 6 at the end of first session. Eventually all for 170. Ashwin and other spray guns will let those average eng batsmen look like Bradman. They will score around 450. India in second innings will get all out for 300 runs.

dhawan and Pujara will get out for single digit scores in first innings. One of them may go past 10 combining both innings but no more than 30s.

if I was standing infront of kohli and Shastri, I would keep slaping them in their face until they cry. Kola veri la irukkean. mfers.